The Top 10 Everygirl Career Profiles of 2015

It’s hard to fathom that 2016 is almost here and while we love a fresh start as much as the next person, we couldn’t let 2015 come to a close without revisiting the dozens of stories of ambitious and influential women that we’ve been honored to share on The Everygirl. Today we’re recapping our top 10 career profiles of the year, based on reader engagement (social media shares, comments, and online traffic) plus a few more that our team found especially relevant and inspiring (though we admit that narrowing it down didn’t come easy!).

In case you missed it, we included our favorite advice these women shared along with links to the full feature. Here’s to you, 2015! We can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store.

Her beginning: Lacy found a job in Phuket, Thailand and moved there shortly after graduation. From Thailand, Lacy moved back home and into her parent’s basement until she was hired as an editorial assistant at Marie Claire in NYC.

Fun fact: Her go-to coffee order is a vanilla latte.

In her words: “Just breathe. Keep going; just put your head down and go. But my goodness, breathe. It gets better. Life has a way of working itself out.”

Her beginning: Jana began her journey as an eager college intern (at Macy’s Merchandising Group) then moved on to design assistant for Caitlin Wilson and is now a dedicated and musing entrepreneur in her own right.

Fun fact: Her go-to paint color is Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter.

In her words: “You may not love what you are doing now but you are building a toolset that will lead to amazing things; also be incredibly kind.”

Her beginning: Rebecca worked at Anthropologie as an assistant designer in the home department and at ny-lon design where she learned how to design a collection (and had the opportunity to travel across the world).

Her beginning: Allie studied acting performance in college, which is where her interest in non-profit initially developed.

Fun fact: The best advice she ever received was: “Gratitude changes everything.”

In her words: “In my twenties, my cousin gave me this saying from Max Ehrmann’s poem Desiderata that has become my mantra: ‘And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.’ I started writing down skills I enjoyed and I would want in my future employment rather than focusing on a specific job title to be successful. I believe the universe, along with my own efforts to live optimistically, are leading me on a path I never would have pictured for myself at 18.”

Her beginning: As a recruiter in the biomedical industry—it was the result of many summers as a “Kelly Girl” administrative temp. And at the time, completely unrelated to her true, innate passion in fashion design.

Fun fact: When asked if she would choose Aidan or Big, she opted for Charlotte’s husband, Harry.

In her words: “I think in my career, I’ve put so much pressure on myself to fix things, and make them perfect: processes, product architectures, designs, brand positioning, etc. But now I embrace life’s common themes of imperfection and finding problems.”

Her beginning: She got her first full-time job as an assistant media buyer at a local Philly agency, but didn’t see growth with the company so she ended up quitting after six months.

Fun fact: She wishes Buffy, The Vampire Slayer was still on the air.

In her words: “I call myself a ‘professional ideaholic’ because I’m addicted to thinking of new business concepts and I’m happy to have tried my hand at a ton of random ideas. Some never launched and some lasted a few months but they were all a learning experience nonetheless. Those learning experiences and ‘throwing the spaghetti on the wall’ helped me to become a stronger businesswoman, and I’m excited to see how much further I can get with my career by 30.”

Her beginning: Growing up in Uganda, Maria became acutely aware of poverty, limited food security, and other resource disparities that plague the youth of East Africa. Maria traveled to Canada where she finished high school and began taking courses in computer science. It didn’t take long for her to realize that computer science was not for her, so with the encouragement of her mother, Maria moved to London to attend the University of York.

Fun fact: If she could have lunch with any woman in the world, it would be Sheryl Sandberg.

In her words: “My dream is to create engaging, innovative and unique content through traditional and digital media, which will empower my generation to make better decisions about the well being of themselves, and their families.”

Her beginning: She worked for a PR company on the McDonald’s account. She ended up moving to a larger advertising agency in Boston less than a year later, which is where she fell in love with good design (and fonts).

Fun fact: She started a travel inspired company (@travelinsiders on Instagram) with her good friend Jacin Fitzgerald to give her wanderlust an outlet each day.

In her words: “I think it’s just waking up every day and busting my tush to make things happen and really, truly believing in myself. That’s the best marketing trick in the book.”

Her beginning: She went to an arts high school in Baltimore, MD and later studied at School of the Art Institute in Chicago.

Fun fact: She just moved to Menorca, Spain with her boyfriend who is teaching English.

In her words: “Quit your day job sooner! I had a lot of anxiety about taking the plunge into self-employment for all the usual reasons, but I would have saved myself from months of exhaustion and the misery of working 80-hour weeks if I had had a little more faith in myself. ”

Her beginning: After moving to America from Italy during childhood, Giuliana credits learning the English language by watching local news each night, sparking her interest in becoming a television host. She later graduated from University of Maryland and then earned her master’s degree at American University.

Fun fact: She just launched her own wine collection Xo, G!

In her words: “Dance on tables while you’re young. There will come a time when you’re too old for that.”